July/August

Murchison Drilling Schools (MDS) recently introduced its new five-day Drillers Course, which aims to equip assistant drillers (AD) with the technical tools needed to become an effective driller, and to ensure that drillers have the technical knowledge necessary to be proficient in his current position and to excel as a toolpusher in the future. The class will be taught as an in-house course. “We were looking at why employees on the contractors side weren’t coming to our (10-day Operations Course), whereas 10-15 years ago probably 50% of the class were from the contractors,” said Bill Murchison Jr, an instructor at MDS. Sam Sirman, who joined MDS in February this year as a lead instructor and has 27 years of experience ...

Derek Morrow isn’t someone who likes to move backwards. At 20, he left his native Scotland and his mechanical engineering studies for the island of Jersey off the French coast. After seven years there – during which he became a junior partner in a small but successful construction and equipment hire company – he and his wife, Ros, decided it was time to move on. Rather than going back to Scotland, the adventurous couple set their sights more than 10,000 miles away and headed Down Under in 1974. Once they arrived, they fell in love with the “friendly people and wide, open spaces” and never looked back. “We’re well and truly Aussies now,” said Mr Morrow, a manager of Atwood ...

Mark Burns named president of ENSCO Offshore International Mark Burns has joined ENSCO to serve as president of ENSCO Offshore International Co, an international operating subsidiary of the company. To be based at ENSCO’s Dallas headquarters, he will replace Paul Mars, who is retiring effective 2 July 2008. Mr Burns was previously vice president and division manager of Noble Drilling, responsible for managing Noble’s offshore units in the US Gulf of Mexico. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and political science from Sam Houston State University. Mr Burns served as chairman of IADC’s North Sea Chapter in 2004, and in 2007 he was named IADC Contractor of the Year. He is a SPE member and served as ...

Innovative method used to create new platform slot Hughes Christensen helped a customer in the Congo accomplish a world-first by utilizing an innovative technique to create an additional slot on a platform in the Foukanda offshore field. The objective was to simultaneously drill and case off over 60 m (197 ft) of shallow formations using casing while drilling (CwD) to enable the drilling of additional wells from the existing platform, which had no further slot availability. A 30-in. diverter conductor pipe was positioned from the platform to the seabed. The pipe was manufactured with a pre-cut window and a 2° deflector inside that would allow drilling to be diverted from the existing eight directional wells, avoiding any collision. The recommended ...

Seadrill to build 4 more new jackups Seadrill has entered into agreements with Keppel FELS and PPL Shipyard in Singapore for the construction of a total of four jackup newbuilds with delivery in 2010. The two units to be built at Keppel FELS will be based on the KFELS Mod V ‘B’ design. The rated water depth is 400 ft, and drilling depth is 30,000 ft. Deliveries are scheduled in June 2010 and November 2010, and the total contract price for the two units is approximately US$420 million. These jackups will be the fifth and sixth jackup orders that Seadrill has placed with KFELS. The shipyard recently completed its fourth jackup, West Ariel, for Seadrill, within budget and three days ...

By Linda Hsieh, assistant managing editor Like many renewable energy sources, geothermal carries substantial potential for powering the world in an environmentally friendly way. However, also like many renewable energy sources, geothermal remains unable to evolve into a fully viable alternative to oil or natural gas. The late 1970s and early ’80s saw rapid growth of the US geothermal industry, mostly in western states such as California and Nevada. But by the ’90s, geothermal had hit a wall. Demand went down in the face of strong competition from natural gas – fairly cheap at the time, if you recall. Even after the US government added an investment tax credit for geothermal drilling in 1992, the market continued to stall. Times ...

IADC holds Returning Military Campaign Job Fair at Fort Hood IADC Career Connection (ICC) held its second Returning Military Campaign (RMC) Job Fair at Fort Hood, Texas, on 14 May. It was held in conjunction with the Army Career Alumni Program Semi-Annual Job Fair, which attracted 170 companies from across the US. Ten IADC member companies participated: Bandera Drilling, Chesapeake, ENSCO, Grey Wolf Drilling, Helmerich & Payne, Nabors International, Parker Drilling, Patterson UTI, Pride International and Transocean. Recruiters met with more than 2,000 military – including artillery soldiers, infantrymen, medics, mechanics, electricians, aviators and even retiring officers – and their families. Ann Brazzel, vice president of Bandera Drilling, commented, “The young men and women at Fort Hood were a delight ...

IADC Chairman Meets Governor on E&P Access 2008 IADC chairman John Lindsay of Helmerich & Payne joined producer representatives in a Denver meeting with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter to express concerns about proposals of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to limit E&P activity in the state. Draft regulations would suspend drilling operations for three months each year, allegedly in the interest of wildlife protection. Not only would that discourage contractors from working in the state, Mr Lindsay argued, but the drilling suspension could be as long as five months, considering the time needed for rig mobilization and de-mobilization. EU Ministers Announce New Working Time Proposal After years of political impasse, EU ministers came to a political agreement ...

Dear Lee, I just wanted to send you a brief note about your Drilling Onshore Conference. I really enjoyed being there and seeing all the progress you have been making in the past seven or eight years that I have been gone. It was very impressive to see the attendance and the exhibits and the enthusiasm everyone has, your staff included. What really got me energized to write was the list of conferences that you have lined up. Wow! All over the world! I can’t imagine how you keep up. Whatever it is, keep doing it, because all the contractors will benefit if they attend. Nice going, maybe I will back again one of these days and we can visit ...

By David Petruska, GoM SPU Riser Technical Authority, BP America Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) in the Gulf of Mexico are a critical part of the infrastructure required for oil and gas E&P. Industry standards that allow safe and economic operations are important to the industry, community and regulatory authorities. Much work has been done since the events of the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons to better understand the causes of moored MODU failures and learn from them. This knowledge has resulted in changes to the industry standards. API RP 2SK 3rd Edition establishes a minimum acceptable design code for mooring systems. RP 2SK requires a mobile mooring, like that on a MODU, be designed to a 5-year return period ...